You can go home again

Bellaire High School alums have the Electric Touch at impromptu courtyardconcert

Christopher Messina rocks out at Bellaire High School performance.

Photo by Mark Austin
Christopher Messina, left, and Louis Messina Jr., middle, pose with fans atBellaire High School.

Photo by Mark Austin
Christopher Messina takes a photo of the audience

Photo by Mark Austin
Lead vocalist Shane Lawlor, foreground, performs

Photo by Mark Austin

It looks like you can go home again.

Bellaire High School graduates and twin brothers Christopher Leigh Messina and Louis Messina, Jr., returned to their alma mater Friday and brought their band, Electric Touch, with them. The band played a short concert in the school courtyard before an excited audience of students who danced and sang along.

The band was in Houston to open for recent hitmakers, Hot Chelle Rae, on the Beautiful Freaks Tour at the House of Blues Friday night. But before the guys headed downtown, they wanted to make a trip down memory lane and do a fun show.

"We just wanted to see our old teachers and bombard the classrooms," Christopher Messina told CultureMap. "Louis and I used to play drums during lunch all the time."

"We love playing anywhere but we didn't know what to expect. Would they hate us? We just wanted to see our old teachers and bombard the classrooms," said Christopher Messina, who graduated in 2005. "Louis and I used to play drums during lunch all the time."

On teaming up with Hot Chelle Rae, Christopher said, "We just reached out to them and got an OK! They're great guys and we've learned so much from them."

Electric Touch was formed in 2007 when Christopher moved to Austin and met British import Shane Lawlor, who became lead vocalist. Originally a trio, with Christopher as guitarist/vocalist and Louis as drummer, the band recruited keyboardist Isaac Strycker and bassist Portland Musser to complete the group.

Clad in skinny jeans, rugged heeled ankle boots, and an overload of black, all five band members emitted a strong British influence, stylistically and aesthetically. The Messina twins each have individual styles representing the dapper half of the group; suspenders, rolled-up sleeves and leopard print.

Lawlor's natural anthemic voice echoed through the school courtyard, grabbing the attention of students passing through classes and peeking through windows to snag a photo or a quick listen. "Beautiful Mess" instantly triggered front-row fans to start jumping up and down, with a mosh pit in one corner of the crowd. The tune was catchy, delivering a throwback '90s grunge sound that could be an instant summer hit.

By the time the song was over, Lawlor tossed his guitar aside to give the audience his full attention and to show off his dances moves. He introduced each of the band members and highlighted the Messina twins mentioning, "All the way from Houston, Texas!"

Quickly transitioning to the next song, the band kept the crowd engaged with a confident rendition of Foster the People's "Pumped up Kicks." Christopher, who playfully threw out spare guitar picks to raging fangirls, and Strycker provided strong back-up vocals throughout the set.

"Dominos" started off with a quick lesson of the day from Lawlor. "Never give up on dreams," he told the high school students.

The band appeared to be having a blast during the 30-minute lunchtime concert, with a high-energy energy performance while fending off a few students who attempted to join them on the stage at the end.

After the show, each of the band members patiently posed for pictures and signed autographs, while bantering back and forth with the crowd.

The Messina twins caught up with CultureMap and discussed their latest album, Never Look Back. "It just dropped last Tuesday and it's about our experiences. Everything from stories about love ... not being in love. We want people to relate to the material and expand to a broader audience."

Electric Touch will be at Cactus Music Saturday at 1 p.m. for an in-store performance.

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Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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